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Pristichampsus
Episode 3.1}} Pristichampsus was a dubious crocodilian creature from the Eocene. It was a falculatively quadrapedal carnivore, and was fast and strong. Characteristics Pristichampsus was a large type of crocodile, which measured approximately ten feet from head to tail, and possessed powerful and dangerous jaws for biting into and killing prey as large as humans. It was falculatively quadrapedal; normally walking or crawling on all fours, but being able to rise up onto its hind legs alone when about to attack. Pristichampsus was also strong and resilient enough to survive falling from a high-up building floor, a fall which would have been fatal to a human (although the fall did still seem to injure the Pristichampsus and slow it down). As a crocodile, as well as being capable of fast movements and coordination on land, Pristichampsus could also retreat into waters and were efficient swimmers; although at least some Pristichampsus were used to warm waters due to their time in Ancient Egypt, and preferred to only spent short amounts of time in colder waters such as those of the River Thames before they reemerged onto land. Pristichampsus apparently also possessed a level of intelligence and reasoning; as Pristichampsus' time being worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians meant that they registered humans bowing to them as a sign of respect and/or peacefulness, to the point that a Pristichampsus would resist attacking humans who bowed before it and would leave them alone. Incursions and encounters Episode 3.1 At least one Pristichampsus came through an Anomaly to Ancient Egypt, where it was worshiped by the Ancient Egyptians and incorporated into their mythology as the demon goddess Ammut. In 2009, when the Anomaly reopened in the British Museum (having moved to there with the Sun Cage), a Pristichampsus (apparently the same one which was worshiped by the Ancient Egyptians) came through. After killing Marion Taylor, the Pristichampsus attacked Sarah Page before fleeing from the museum into London. The Pristichampsus killed a Traffic Warden, then waded into the River Thames. As the Thames' waters were colder than what the Pristichampsus was used to, it eventually crossed and left the Thames and attacked a shopping mall. While attacking a cleaning lady, the Pristichampsus fell through a window from a high up floor, badly injuring it. Meanwhile, another Pristichampsus tried to come through the Sun Cage Anomaly twice, until Connor Temple shoved a light into the Pristichampsus' jaw, electrocuting it. The Pristichampsus in London returned to the British Museum to go back through the Anomaly. When it found the ARC team guarding the Anomaly, it attacked them until they pretended to worship it by bowing down to it. The Pristichampsus then left them alone and returned to its own time through the Anomaly before it closed. Other references Episode 1.1 Pristichampsus was in Connor's database. Primeval Evolved Intro On the Microscope in Your home lab in the ARC, You analysed a sample of Pristichampsus. In Abby's Sketchbook, You took a look at a sketch and notes made about the Pristichampsus, so that You could brush up on Your knowledge of them. Episode 4.1 Pristichampsus was in James Lester's recap of the events of the first three series of Primeval. Real life Pristichampsus (name meaning "saw crocodile") was a pristichampsid crocodilian genus that lived from about 56 to 35 million years ago and grew to approximately ten feet (three metres) in length. Pristichampsus possessed long limbs, heavily-armoured skin, hoof-like toes and ziphodont teeth, and its tail was more dinosaur-like than that of non-extinct crocidiles (lacking an osteoderm and being round in the cross-section). It is thought that Pristichampsus probably spent more time on land than in water, and that it primarily hunted land-based mammals. It would have also been capable of facultive bipedalism and galloping, albeit only at high speeds. Recently it's been argued that Pristichampsus is a nomen dubium, meaning it's not a valid taxon, and instead most material has been assigned to Boverisuchus. Additionally, the linnaean family Pristichampsidae has been replaced by Planocraniidae, based on Planocrania. Trivia *The marks on the Pristichampsus' stomach in Episode 3.1 vaguely resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. Errors * Pristichampsus was shown be able walk in a "human-like" bipedal movement. But in real life it was only capable of bipedal running and was mainly a quadruped. *Pristichampsus was shown with a flat, crocodile-like tail. In real life, Pristichampsus had a round, lizard- or dinosaur-like tail. The picture of one on Connor Temple's database had a round tail. *Pristichampsus had hooved toes, similar to a deer or pigs. In Primeval it had clawed toes. *A recent paper found this genus to be dubious; but as this was discovered long after the shows depiction, and Pristichampsus was a widely used genus, this is forgivable. External links *BBC America's Pristichampsus Page *Pristichampsus on the Watch site Category:Creatures Category:Series 3 Creatures Category:Promotional Creatures Category:Prehistoric creatures Category:Cenozoic creatures Category:Eocene Creatures Category:Aquatic Creatures Category:Vertebrates Category:Reptiles Category:Crocodilian Category:Creatures that cause deaths Category:Carnivores Category:Mythical Creatures